Ian Cameron, die voorsitter van die portefeuljekomitee oor polisie, sê Suid-Afrikaners se kommer oor hul veiligheid is geregverdig. Baie gemeenskappe leef daagliks met onder meer afpersing, bendegeweld en intimidasie.
Cameron sê die staat tree dikwels eers op wanneer probleme reeds té ernstig is. Hy verwys na die ontplooiing van die weermag om die polisie in die bekamping van misdaad by te staan en meen dit kan op die korttermyn help, maar is nie ’n langtermynoplossing nie. Volgens hom moet sulke ingrypings beter beplan en streng bestuur word. Hy is ook bekommerd dat die Parlement nie betyds oor die ontplooiing ingelig is nie, alhoewel dit reeds aangekondig was. Dit maak behoorlike toesig moeiliker. Voorstelle om samewerking te verbeter, is glo ook nie gebruik nie.
Cameron wys ook op die aanhoudende geweld in die taxibedryf in Kaapstad. Hy sê dit laat gemeenskappe in vrees lewe. Bewerings dat sommige polisielede bande met die bedryf het, ondermyn vertroue in die polisiediens. Korrupsie-aantygings by die reguleringsowerheid vir die privaat veiligheidsbedryf vererger die probleem. Hy sê voorts sukses moenie net aan inhegtenisnemings gemeet word nie. Die fokus moet wees op intelligensie en die afbreek van misdaadnetwerke, met hulp van instansies soos die Suid-Afrikaanse Inkomstediens.
Cameron het ook die tekort aan verkragtingstoetsstelle (rape kits) gekritiseer en dit onaanvaarbaar genoem. Hy noem dat die komitee se werk deur die ondersoek na lt.genl. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi se beweringe vertraag is, maar dat belangrike sake weer aandag sal kry.
Lees Cameron se volledige verklaring hier onder:
Thursday at Parliament’s Peace and Security Cluster media briefing, I made it clear that South Africans are right to be concerned about safety. Communities are living with extortion, gang violence and daily criminal intimidation, while too often the state reacts only once the crisis is already entrenched.
The deployment of the SANDF may provide short-term support in specific hotspots, and everyone wants that intervention to succeed. But it must produce real value for money. In a country with limited resources and overwhelming policing demands, every deployment must be properly planned, tightly coordinated and assessed against clear outcomes. It cannot become an expensive substitute for building a capable, professional and accountable police service.
That is why I raised concern about the way this deployment has unfolded. Parliament was not timeously informed, despite the announcement having been made weeks earlier. That matters, not for the sake of procedure alone, but because proper oversight helps ensure that public money is spent effectively and that operations are designed for impact.
During deliberations, a number of practical recommendations were made to strengthen the deployment and improve its effectiveness, including around coordination, joint planning and operational integration. Those recommendations were simply ignored.
If government is serious about making this intervention work, then it should be willing to listen when Parliament raises constructive proposals aimed at improving performance and protecting value for money.
I also addressed the continued violence linked to the taxi industry in Cape Town. This is not only about isolated shootings. It is about deeply traumatised communities, families living in fear, and the normalisation of violence as part of daily life.
One of the most serious concerns remains the repeated appearance of allegations involving police officials with interests in the taxi industry. That cuts directly against public confidence and raises serious questions about integrity, oversight and consequence management within SAPS.
At the same time, unresolved allegations of corruption at senior levels of PSIRA continue to weaken trust in the wider policing environment. If those structural issues are not confronted, attempts to deal with taxi violence will remain superficial.
On crime more broadly, my message was that arrest statistics on their own are not a measure of success.
South Africa needs policing that is intelligence led, prosecution focused and aimed at dismantling criminal networks, not only producing headline arrest numbers. We need to target the organisers, financiers and beneficiaries of organised crime, and strengthen cooperation with prosecutors and agencies such as SARS.
I also again highlighted the continued shortage of rape kits at police stations. That remains indefensible. In a country that repeatedly states that gender-based violence is a priority, these failures reflect a system that is still not treating victims with the seriousness they deserve.
Lastly, I explained that the work of the Portfolio Committee on Police has been affected by the urgent demands of the Ad Hoc Committee investigating the allegations made by Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Important matters had to be deferred, including the planned inquiry into gang violence in the Western Cape, the committee’s annual report and the report on the Statutory Rape Inquiry. But that work has not been abandoned. As the Ad Hoc Committee concludes, the Portfolio Committee must return to those priorities with urgency.
The broader point is simple, South Africans do not need more symbolism. They need institutions that work, public money that is spent wisely, and leadership that is prepared to act on credible oversight before failure becomes crisis. IC
